Iron Comprising a Thermal Screen With an Integrated Conduit

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an iron comprising a housing, a heating body, and a thermal screen ( 7 ) placed between the heating body and the housing. According to the invention, said thermal screen ( 7 ) includes at least one integrated conduit ( 73 ) with an inlet and an outlet for the circulation of a fluid.

The present invention relates to pressing irons having a housing, a pressing soleplate provided with a heating element and a thermal screen, or heat shield, interposed between the soleplate and the housing.

There is known from the document FR 2 770 856 filed by the applicant, a steam pressing iron having a housing, a soleplate having a heating resistance, and a plastic heat shield interposed between the housing and the soleplate to limit the transfer of heat from the soleplate towards the housing.

It is common to equip such an iron with a manual pump disposed on the front part of the body of the iron, this pump making it possible to inject water into a steam chamber in order to produce bursts of steam when the iron is held vertically. In such case, the supply orifice of the pump is usually connected to a tube that emerges at the level of the rear part of the reservoir so that the pump remains supplied with water when the iron is held vertically. However, the installation and the connection of this supply tube between the pump and the rear part of the reservoir present the disadvantage of being difficult to automate, which complicates the assembly of the iron and engenders a high fabrication cost.

The invention which follows aims at mitigating these disadvantages.

The goal of the invention is achieved by a pressing iron having a housing, a heating body and a heat shield interposed between the heating body and the housing, characterized in that the heat shield integrates at least one conduit presenting an inlet orifice and an outlet orifice for the circulation of a fluid.

Such a characteristic makes it possible to use the heat shield to conduct a fluid, for example from a reservoir towards an off-set element such as a pump or a drip device, which makes it possible to greatly simplify the process of assembly of the iron.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the heat shield is obtained by molding.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the heat shield is made of a thermohardening plastic.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the plastic material is filled, or impregnated, with fibers.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the conduit is obtained by a process of water or gas injection during molding.

Such a characteristic makes it possible to produce conduits of complex form at lower cost.

According to still another characteristic of the invention, the iron has a reservoir and the inlet orifice of the conduit is fed with fluid from the reservoir.

According to still another characteristic of the invention, the iron has a pump and the outlet orifice of the conduit is connected to the inlet of the pump.

According to still another characteristic of the invention, the heat shield constitutes the bottom of the reservoir.

According to still another characteristic of the invention, the pump is used to inject water into a steam chamber for the production of steam even when the iron is held vertically.

According to still another characteristic of the invention, the inlet and outlet orifices are oriented perpendicular to the plane of the heat shield.

One will better understand the goals, aspects and advantages of the present invention, from the description given hereafter of a particular embodiment of the invention presented as a nonrestrictive example, while referring to the annexed drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-section of a pressing iron provided with a heat shield according to a particular embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the heat shield of the iron of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the heat shield of the iron of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-section of the heat shield along line IV-IV of FIG. 3.

Only the elements necessary for an understanding of the invention have been shown. To facilitate reading of the drawings the same elements carry the same reference numerals from one figure to the other.

The iron, represented schematically in FIG. 1, comprises a plastic housing 1 integrating the shape of a handle and a soleplate 2 in thermal communication with a heating body 3. Heating body 3 comprises a main steam chamber 4 closed by a plate 5 and is provided with a heating element 6 controlled by a thermostat, not represented in the figure.

A heat shield 7 is interposed between the upper face of heating body 3 and housing 1, the heat shield being maintained on the heating body 3 by fastening means. Housing 1 is thus isolated from the heating body and is fixed to heat shield 7 by screws.

Housing 1 contains a water reservoir 8 being composed of an upper part 9 and a lower part which are assembled on one another, heat shield 7 defining the lower part of water reservoir 8. Heat shield 7 to this end has a first channel 71 and a second annular channel 72 receiving, with interposition of a sealing strip, the walls of upper part 9. Reservoir 8 is provided with a filling orifice 10 opening on the front face of the iron.

In a conventional manner, the iron comprises a drip device 11 that provides a water passage from reservoir 8 towards steam chamber 4, this device classically having an orifice whose cross section can be reduced by a needle.

The iron also has a manual piston pump 12 making it possible to inject water into a secondary steam chamber 13 having a reduced size compared to main steam chamber 4. This secondary steam chamber 13, represented in broken lines in FIG. 1, is in particular intended to produce steam when the iron is held vertically in order to allow vertical smoothing by steam jets.

More particularly according to the invention, heat shield 7, shown in greater detail in FIGS. 2 to 4, integrates a conduit 73 extending from the rear end of reservoir 8 to a flange 74 disposed in line with pump 12 and to which the lower end of pump 12 is hydraulically connected. The end of conduit 73 disposed at the rear of reservoir 8 has an inlet orifice 73 a permitting water from the reservoir to penetrate into conduit 73, the other end of conduit 73 having an outlet orifice emerging into flange 74 so that water present in conduit 73 can be used to supply pump 12, in particular when the iron is held vertically. The inlet 73 a and outlet orifices of conduit 73 are advantageously oriented perpendicular to the main plane of heat shield 7 so as to simplify the molding of this latter.

Preferentially, heat shield 7 is made of a thermohardening plastic filled, or impregnated, with fibers and conduit 73 is obtained by the technique of gas injection. This technique, known per se, and described for example in the patent application WO 03/011557, consists in designing the conduit and the mold so that the external wall of the conduit is solidified more quickly than the volume at the heart of the conduit and injecting the gas through an end of the conduit, before solidification of the plastic in the heart of the conduit, so as to evacuate the molten material through the other end of the conduit, thus freeing a passage at the center of the conduit.

Such a pressing iron, in which the supply conduit for the pump is integrated into the heat shield, has the advantage of permitting a simplified and reliable process for fabricating the iron.

Of course, the invention is by no means limited to the embodiment described and illustrated which has been given only as an example. Modifications remain possible, in particular from the point of view of the constitution of the various elements or by substitution of technical equivalents, without departing for that matter from the field of protection of the invention.

Thus, in an alternative embodiment of the invention not represented, other conduits could be integrated into the heat shield such as for example a conduit to connect the reservoir to the drip device feeding the main steam chamber. 

1. Pressing iron comprising a housing (1) having a length dimension, a heating body (3), and a heat shield (7) interposed between the heating body (3) and the housing (1), wherein said heat shield (7) is constructed to contain at least one integral conduit (73) extending along the length dimension of the heat shield and presenting an inlet orifice and an outlet orifice for the circulation of a fluid.
 2. Pressing iron according to claim 1, wherein the heat shield (7) is formed by molding.
 3. Pressing iron according to claim 2, wherein said heat shield (7) consists of a thermohardening plastic.
 4. Pressing iron according to claim 3, wherein said plastic is filled with fibers.
 5. Pressing iron according to claim 2, wherein said conduit (73) is obtained by a process of water or gas injection during the molding.
 6. Pressing iron according to claim 1, wherein said iron further comprises a reservoir (8) and said inlet orifice of said conduit (73) is connected to be supplied with fluid from said reservoir (8).
 7. Pressing iron according to claim 6, wherein said iron further comprises a pump (12) having an inlet and said outlet orifice of said conduit (73) is connected to said inlet of said pump (12).
 8. Pressing iron according to claim 6, wherein said heat shield (7) constitutes the bottom of said reservoir (8).
 9. Pressing iron according to claim 6, wherein said pump (12) is used to inject water into a steam chamber (13) for the production of steam, even when said iron is held vertically.
 10. Pressing iron according to claim 1, wherein said heat shield lies in a main plane and said inlet and outlet orifices are oriented perpendicular to the main plane of said heat shield.
 11. Pressing iron according to claim 1, wherein said heat shield (7) consists of a thermohardening plastic.
 12. Pressing iron according to claim 11, wherein said plastic is filled with fibers.
 13. Pressing iron according to claim 3, wherein said conduit (73) is obtained by a process of water or gas injection during the molding.
 14. Pressing iron according to claim 4, wherein said conduit (73) is obtained by a process of water or gas injection during the molding.
 15. Pressing iron according to claim 5, wherein said iron further comprises a reservoir (8) and said inlet orifice of said conduit (73) is connected to be supplied with fluid from said reservoir (8).
 16. Pressing iron according to claim 15, wherein said iron further comprises a pump (12) having an inlet and said outlet orifice of said conduit (73) is connected to said inlet of said pump (12).
 17. Pressing iron according to claim 15, wherein said heat shield (7) constitutes the bottom of said reservoir (8).
 18. Pressing iron according to claim 15, wherein said pump (12) is used to inject water into a steam chamber (13) for the production of steam, even when said iron is held vertically.
 19. Pressing iron according to claim 18, wherein said heat shield lies in a main plane and said inlet and outlet orifices are oriented perpendicular to the main plane of said heat shield. 